Immortal
Immortals are superhuman beings who carry an extremely rare virus that can grant them eternal life. However, they can still be killed if they are damaged beyond their accelerated healing's power to regenerate. Loosely speaking, this can collectively refer to Vampires and Lycans, but strictly speaking, a true Immortal has the immortality virus with none of the animal genetic features in it. So far in the Underworld universe, the only true Immortal ever seen or mentioned has been Alexander Corvinus and two of his sons: Marcus and William, from whom all other species of Immortal are descended. Marcus and William later became the first Vampire and Werewolf, respectively. Description Immortals would seem to not be very different from normal humans, Alexander Corvinus having lived amongst humans for most of his seventeen-hundred-year life, hiring them as soldiers and servants as seen with his Cleaners in Underworld: Evolution, although it remains unknown how many of them were aware of his immortality. Very little is known about their abilities and limitations, as Alexander Corvinus was the only known Immortal. Background Immortality is granted by the active Corvinus Strain, which is a genetic mutation carried within the genes of Alexander Corvinus. In the early 5th century, Alexander was infected with a unknown plague virus, which somehow mutated within him due to the presence of the 'Corvinus Strain'. This made Alexander into the first Immortal, and was passed down through his bloodline. The strains of his twin sons, who were also immortals, William and Marcus were mutated after they were bitten by a rabid wolf and bat respectively, turning them into the first Werewolf and Vampire. According to legend, the third of Alexander's sons was mortal, and it is all but proven in Underworld that a dormant virus was passed down to mortal descendants of Alexander, including Michael Corvin. Powers and abilities Not much is known about an Immortal's abilities. It is unknown if Immortals can bite and infect humans with a virus like Vampires and Lycans can, however, Selene gains new strength and powers by drinking Alexander's blood. Alexander showed great wisdom, cunning, and resourcefulness, likely due his very old age. He seemed to know everything about the Vampire-Lycan War, recruit and assemble his own personal unity and was able to live thousands of years keeping not only his condition, but the entire conflict between the Immortal species from humanity. Alexander also exhibited a certain degree of superhuman senses, when he was able to hear a radio frequency several meters away. In Underworld: Evolution, Selene phrases it that Alexander was the only one older and therefore stronger than Marcus and could have defeated him, even with his Hybrid status. While Alexander never denied this, he was unwilling to do so, since Marcus was his son, so the extent of his strength was never displayed. This is shown to be true to a certain degree when Selene, after ingesting a small amount of Alexander's blood strain, had her superhuman abilities enhanced to higher levels and her weakness to ultraviolet light completely removed. All others Vampires and Lycans that had ingested/injected Alexander's strain through Selene or her daughter, Eve, had also become more powerful. It also unknown if an Immortal has any healing powers. When Alexander was stabbed through the abdomen, he seemed badly injured and this might have indicated that he was dying. It is unknown if he could have quickly healed the wound, although he showed some toughness as he lost a great quantity of blood without passing out, this could mean he was unable to heal or simply choose not to and decided to finally die. It is known that common traits found in the Lycanthropes and Vampires originate from the virus that created the Immortals. These traits included memory being accessed and transference of transformative genetic material through blood ingestion or transfusion, as well as having an indefinite lifespan. The only ability not shared by all immortal beings is the ability to physically alter their appearance at will or instinct, which is most likely because of some genetic instability within the originators of the Vampire and Werewolf species, which carried out into others of their respective species. Trivia * In Greg Cox's Underworld: Rise of the Lycans novelization it is stated that Marcus and William were both Immortals prior to being bitten. * According to Greg Cox's Underworld: Evolution novelization, few Immortals can survive being burned alive"Samuel wondered how many Vampires had perished in the conflagration. Few Immortals could with stand being burned alive. He slowed the footage down to the standard speed, allowing the smoking ruins to smolder in real time. Had any of the Mansion's inhabitance managed to escape the blaze" ~ Evolution novelization, chapter 7. This if supported in other installments. In all versions of the second installment, Death Dealers are ordered to make sure that all of William Corvinus' victims are burned to ash before they can 'Turn'. Likewise, in "Rise of the Lycans", any and all of the "Werewolves of William's Kind" are also disposed of by fire after death. In Awakening, after identifying 'Infected' individuals, they would then be cremated, (pyres are seen during the opening sequence). In real life, it is actually standard procedure that all dead bodies and medical waste in which the presence of virus' has been confirmed be disposed of by cremation. * Alexander might had been a superior, more pure type of Immortal. Both Marcus and William, after becoming the first of their species, still possessed the weakness to sunlight and silver, as opposed of the Corvinus strain-Hybrids, who after using Alexander's strain, had their weakness removed and their superhuman abilities enhanced. It should be noted that their mother was a regular human and this could indicate that Marcus and William had heritage a less potent type of Corvinus strain. References es:Inmortal fr:Immortels Category:Species